Looking Back: Meredith makes dandy trip to Plainview 04-20-2008

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, April 19, 2008

(NOTE: This is part of a series entitled "Looking Back," offering interesting glimpses into Plainview history. Originated to coincide with the city's centennial, articles rely heavily on information gleaned from Herald files.)

By DOUG McDONOUGH

Herald Managing Editor

Forty years ago today, the most popular Dallas Cowboy of the time came to Plainview to christen the Plainview Key Club's new home.

Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, the Key Club was active for about 25 years, from 1960 until the mid-1980s. The service club was originally limited to boys in the 10th through 12th grades, but expanded its ranks in the 1970s to include girls.

Its most visible project, the subscription program to display American flags on specified holidays, continues through the efforts of the Kiwanis Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Plainview Elks.

According to information provided by 1968 Kiwanis president John Skaggs, strong Key Club membership growth in the mid-1960s prompted the search for a permanent home for the group.

Founded with about 50 members, Key Club had grown to more than 100 in 1966.

A flyer from the building dedication explains that in early 1967, Wayland President Dr. Roy McClung arranged for the college to donate a 20x100-foot Army barracks that was no longer needed for student housing.

In turn, the city council and county commissioners agreed to provide a site for the clubhouse  on the north edge of the Plainview-Hale County Airport next to the Civil Air Patrol Building. Mallow Home Movers then transported the structure to the new location at their cost.

Subsequently, more than 100 businesses and individuals donated thousands of dollars in material and furnishings and put in more than 1,500 hours over 16 months to get the meeting hall ready.

The building was named for one of the Plainview Key Club founders, Herald Sports Editor Bob Hilburn, who was instrumental in bringing then Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith to Plainview for the afternoon building dedication and evening Key Club Leadership Banquet.

Speaking at the Key Club Leadership Banquet, Meredith praised Cowboys coach Tom Landry as "a dedicated man and the finest example of a Christian I've ever been associated with." He suggested using Landry as a measuring stick to pattern themselves after.

At the earlier clubhouse dedication, Meredith stressed the need to "evaluate your talent and how it can be applied to community service."

Citing the biblical parable of the talents, Meredith admonished, "Don't question your talents, but get the most out of them."

The Dallas quarterback flew into Plainview after speaking at an alumni banquet at the University of Arkansas.

Long before he gained fame for singing "Turn Out the Lights" on "Monday Night Football," Meredith was literally turning out the lights for most of the other teams in the NFL.

In fact, he came within a whisker of beating the Green Bay Packers in the 1966 NFL Championship Game and advancing to Super Bowl I, losing 34-27 on a fourth down pass interception in the end zone on the game's final drive.

The next year, Meredith again was at the helm at the NFL Championship "Ice Bowl" when Bart Starr put the Packers on top, 34-27, with a quarterback sneak on fourth down with just 16 seconds left. Considered one of the greatest NFL games ever, the contest  prelude to Super Bowl II  continues to hold the record as the coldest NFL game ever. Game time temperature at Green Bay's Lambeau Field in Wisconsin was -13 degrees.

According to Meredith's biography on Wikipedia, "Dandy Don" led the Cowboys to their first winning season in 1965 and into the NFL playoffs each year from 1965 until his unexpected retirement in 1969.

He went on to gain even more fame as a color commentator for ABC's "Monday Night Football," beginning in 1970. He left for three seasons (1974-76) to work with Curt Gowdy at NBC, then returned to MNF partners Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell. He remained on the program until the end of the 1984 season.

Meredith has the unique distinction of being the only player to play his high school (Mount Vernon), college (SMU) and pro (Dallas Cowboys) career in and around the Dallas area. He never played a home game, on any level, outside of the Dallas area.

Meredith spent nine years with the Cowboys and was inducted into its Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium in 1976. He was a two-time all-American at SMU in 1958 and 1959, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, two-time All-Pro selection, 1966 Bert Bell Award recipient and NFL Player of the Year in 1966.

Meredith now resides in Santa Fe, N.M., with his wife, Susan.

Skaggs said the Kiwanis Club ended up overspending on the clubhouse and related activities.

"We spent more money than anticipated, so we decided to have an air show, which we did, and paid off our loan in one year. The air show continued until 1983 when a pilot was killed during the show."

The 1969 Plainview High yearbook added that the remaining debt on the building was retired with the sale of $1,500 in jewelry donated from Bob Hilburn's estate. Hilburn had purchased the items during a tour of Europe shortly before he died Aug. 25, 1968.

DANDY COWBOY VISITOR: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith (second from right) was the keynote speaker at the 1968 dedication of the Plainview Key Club clubhouse. Shown with Meredith are Truitt Whitehead (left), Herald Sports Editor Bob Hilburn and Joe Don Hancock. They received plaques at the dedication for service to Key Club.

Courtesy Photo

KEY CLUB CLUBHOUSE: Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, the Plainview Key Club was organized in 1960 and remained active into the mid-1980s, serving high school-aged youth. The clubhouse, actually a former Army barracks later used for student housing at Wayland, was located on airport property across from the present-day animal shelter. The building was later sold to the Plainview Jaycees and used as their clubhouse until it was razed when Southwest Third was widened.